


The Storm Race

by Rosencrantz



Category: The Chronicles of Chrestomanci - Diana Wynne Jones
Genre: Action/Adventure, F/M, Kelpies, Post-Canon, Storms, Story within a Story
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-08-25
Updated: 2014-08-25
Packaged: 2018-02-14 17:12:45
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,206
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2200131
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rosencrantz/pseuds/Rosencrantz
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Marianne's stories have a knack for coming to life. A Cat as Chrestomanci story.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Storm Race

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Aeriel](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Aeriel/gifts).



> I picked your story up from the PH list the moment I saw it. I hope I made something you'll enjoy!
> 
> Thanks to my betas PenguinOnRocks, [Snacky](http://archiveofourown.org/users/Snacky), and [Dreamiflame](http://archiveofourown.org/users/Dreamiflame)!

For years, Marianne wondered if she'd created Irene, the idea a persistent nagging thought in the back of her mind. She shared her worry with Cat, during one of their long nights working together, and he suggested that more likely she just had a gift for prophecy.

Cat always believed the best of her.

Whatever the truth was, Marianne remained very careful about what she wrote since. Irene was a most wonderful woman and an excellent gammer, but the darker possibilities had not escaped Marianne's notice. Her writing changed. Never any true villains, no one cruel. She didn't want to accidentally bring someone like that into the world.

But oh, she still loved to write. And Cat loved to read her stories. In their college years they'd take breaks from their work to sit under a large wych elm that graced their campus and Marianne would read her latest out loud to him.

Even now that Cat had taken over as Chrestomanci and Marianne had stayed on as his companion, he would ask after her stories. He was her biggest fan.

Working with the Chrestomanci wasn't easy and didn't have a lot of downtime. Today's activity had started with riding on a train to Scotland. A group of Wyrd Witches in the depths of Scotland formally requested Cat's help. Mysterious storms were buffeting their dreams and that was enough reason, as far as the Wyrd Witches were concerned, to call in Chrestomanci.

Cat and Marianne decided this was a relaxing train ride sort of emergency.

"How do you suppose Klartch is holding up at home?" said Cat, chin in his hand, looking out the window at the passing countryside.

"A power-trip, as per usual," said Marianne. She sat in a most unladylike fashion, with her knees pulled up to her chest to use as a table for her notebook. She wrote best that way.

Her latest epic centered around a captain named Jeremiah Sage who had lost his boat, his wife, and his way, in one strange, fantastical night. It was odd enough that Marianne decided if Jeremiah turned out to be real, it couldn't possibly have happened like that. Making the story safe to write about.

"Good thing we left the cats to keep in him in line then. What am I supposed to do against dreams, Marianne?" Cat asked. He scratched his upper lip where the barest wisp of peach fuzz took hold. The mustache growing attempts continued. Even at thirty, facial hair continued to elude poor Cat. Magical growth attempts failed in the worst ways. Natural was the only way to go. At least if he wanted to avoid another ten foot-long handlebar incident.

"It won't be like that time with the Oracles in series 4, Cat, don't worry about that," Marianne replied as she dashed off another line. "We made them promise they hadn't taken any weird herbs before we even agreed to come out."

> Far away from the ocean there was a sea captain named Jeremiah Sage.

This story flowed out of her. Jeremiah was on the run from a card game gone terribly wrong. On the path to fortune as he followed a rumour about a beautiful woman of the fae who lived in a forlorn loch in Scotland. If he could win her, he'd be rich beyond his dreams. But she had a sinister secret. One that may cost him his life. Or more.

Marianne had already written Captain Jeremiah Sage's disastrous card game, his meeting with a mysterious old witch who sent him seeking the fairy woman, and his journey to Scotland. Right now she was working on the part where his wife begged him not to go, that no woman of the fae could give him true fortune, but Captain Sage was ignoring her pleas.

"Cat," said Marianne, "would it be more interesting if Mrs. Sage went on with him? I was going to have the fae lady capture her at home but what if she went adventuring with him?"

"Oh, I like that," he answered. "And it keeps things more in one place."

She nodded, licked the tip of her pen, and started writing Mrs. Sage's dramatic escape into the night to track down her wayward husband.

"Nearly there," said Cat. "I hope they've got more than one shared eye." He shuddered, still stuck on the Oracles.

"I think that was an exceptional circumstance, love," Marianne said simply.

Scotland continued its trend of being grey and wet. Despite this, it felt as if something magic was in the air. That tingle of something Other is what Marianne loved. Scotland as a whole didn't cause enough trouble to warrant much official business, so she tried to enjoy every chance she got to the fullest. When they entered into the moorlands, the grey erupted into the gorgeous red purple of heather and she felt that magic anew.

The Wyrd Witches weren't easy to find and the fog was setting in. Marianne reached for Cat's hand as they tromped through the fog to make sure they didn't lose track of each other. They could not see further than a few feet in front of them. The fog muffled everything, including the soft curses they uttered each time one of them stepped in a hole.

Then they heard the chanting.

> _One step, two step_  
>  Far away from home  
>  They'll go a long way  
>  Before they're safe and sound 

"Come on," said Cat as he surged ahead, holding onto Marianne. They broke into a clearing and the fog parted like a door opening. They found the three Wyrd Witches, gathered around a boiling cauldron.

"That you, Chrestomanci?" said the tallest witch.

"You didn't make it easy to find you," said Cat, letting go of Marianne's hand and straightening up.

Marianne went to work. Cat had a certain blindness when it came to understanding facial language and her job was to make sure no one took advantage of this. Or that things would not go south if Cat took something the wrong way. She studied the witches. They seemed more concerned than up to something. But the problem with the station of Chrestomanci meant that there was always someone out there who wanted to take you down for whatever agenda they had this week.

"It's our way," said the shortest witch. "The storms rage on and we're glad you've come."

A cold wind blew past them. Night had fallen while Cat and Marianne searched, and the only light was Cat's newly conjured ball of light and the fire of the cauldron. No, Marianne said to herself as she looked up, that wasn't the only light. The moon shone bright that night. Full and shining through the fog. It added an unreal feel to the situation.

"You're going to have to explain this to me," said Cat, waving his left hand. Chairs sprung up for him and Marianne. He sat tall and straight with authority.

"We see a storm," said the witch neither tall nor short. "It rages across Scotland. It devastates it. It moves onward. All because of one man who lost fairly to the fae."

Oh _no_ , thought Marianne.

Marianne didn't hear the name of the lake. The loch. Whatever the Wyrd Witches called it. She could barely understand them through their accents. She did hear her worries. _You did it again_ , they said.

She and Cat walked and walked. A seeking spell in front of them like a will o' wisp led them to the loch the Wyrd Witches aimed them at. Behind them the Wyrd Witches walked, gossiping amongst themselves.

And on the shore of the loch was Captain Jeremiah Sage. Exactly as she pictured him in her story. Tall, broad, curly white beard so big she could see it from behind and not a scrap of hair on his scalp. He was screaming epithets at the uncaring waves of the lake.

Cat nudged Marianne. "Should I cover your ears?"

Marianne gave him a weak smile. "Hush." This wasn't their first furious foul-tongued mysterious stranger.

"You'll give her back, you filthy wretch! You slattern! You thief!" screamed Sage. His fist waved in the air, huge and gnarled. "She's mine, she's my love!"

He hefted up and flung a rock into the lake. All the waters gave him were ripples.

Cat turned around to speak to the Wyrd Witches, but they had melted away. "Grand," he said.

Marianne called out. "Captain Sage!"

She hoped he wouldn't respond to it. Maybe he was really a man named Jones that had no idea what they were even here about. Maybe his dog had fallen in the loch and not his wife stolen.

Sage turned around and Marianne sighed _It was him._

"What do you want, girl?" He didn't sound like he cared to hear the answer.

"We're here to help," said Marianne. Cat glanced at her in surprise, but continued to let her take the lead.

"What, someone call the police?" said Sage, clearly taking them for the authorities. And it was true, Marianne and Cat's clothing style had an official bent to it. Cat hadn't the flamboyance of Christopher and Marianne had been raised to believe that if you were doing an important job you should dress for it.

"We aren't the police," said Cat.

Sage looked at them while the wind whipped around the Cat and Marianne. It had picked up in power, blowing away the lingering fingers of fog, and pulling the waves of the lake higher. Sage's beard blew to the side and Marianne could feel her hair coming undone.

"What good are you, then?" said Sage.

"You made a deal," said Marianne. She clutched her bag. The bag held her notebook. Her notebook held her story.

> Captain Sage pushed back his hat and smirked.
> 
> "What are your terms, then, woman?" he said to the beautiful fae creature in front of him. Her hair was as dark as true darkness, her body was willowy, and her eyes held no reflections.
> 
> "You. Your vessel. If you can outrace me."
> 
> Sage laughed. "It's a fool's bet, but I'll take it. No swimmer can outrace my boat," he said. "And I win, I get the gold, yeah?"
> 
> "Yes," said the fae woman. And then she transformed. No longer was she a woman, but a towering black steed of the finest breeding. And the eyes didn't reflect, but inside held a deep fire.
> 
> Sage stepped back. "I can beat a horse as well as a woman!" he cried.
> 
> That was when his wife burst from the bushes, crying _no, stop, don't_ at her husband and leapt upon the kelpie, which the fae truly was, to stop it from taking her husband to the depths in a foolhardy bet…

Sage nodded slowly. "I made a deal. A deal that was not consummated."

Cat looked between them. Marianne put confidence into her voice. No time to panic about creating people from thin air.

"What happened, Captain Sage?" asked Marianne.

"That damn fairy wretch… she stole my wife. Dragged her into the lake. I chased. Rocks tore open my boat and down it went. I barely got out," Sage said and looked out at the lake. "I aim to get her back. Even if just to give a Christian burial."

The wind blew so hard Cat and Marianne stumbled to the side. Sage stood unmoved. But he shook from anger.

"This is too much!" said Cat. He wove his hand through the air to create a bubble of peace in the storm. Nothing happened. He tried again. The wind caused him to stumble to the side.

Marianne frowned and willed the wind to stop. She received the same disregard as Cat. Another gust and her hair was blown all out of shape, bobby pins flying into the air for her troubles.

Sage turned back to the lake.

"You won't drive me off! You have what's mine and I'll take her back, even if I have to drain your lake, poison it, anything to get you for what you did!" He screamed at it. "We had a deal!"

"The deal changed."

A woman rose out of the water, long black hair flowing down her body like inky water.

" _You_ ," growled Sage.

"You're doing this?" said Cat, stepping forward and assuming command. He nodded to Marianne to join him. The other world… that was her family's dealings.

"She's happier with me. You would have died for gold and left her alone. I can give her happiness," said the kelpie. She didn't smile. Her face wasn't made for it.

"I know what you are," said Marianne to the kelpie. "And all you'll give anyone is a watery death."

"Damn you!" cried Sage. "I love her! You can't just steal a man's wife!" He leapt at the kelpie. A wind blew him back, sending him tumbling.

"I'll… make another deal," said the kelpie. "But not with you." She turned to Cat and Marianne.

"You'll race me. If you win, I'll give you back the woman. If you lose, I'll take your love." The kelpie had rows of sharp teeth visible when she spoke.

As Cat was yelling no, Marianne overrode him. "Yes. We'll do it."

"Then begin!" cried the kelpie. She transformed into an enormous horse and dashed into the water.

Almost on instinct, Cat conjured a glowing, golden-hued wooden boat. They couldn't stop the storm, but they could still work other magic! "Get in, Marianne!" he said and clambered in swiftly.

She joined him and conjured her own wind to send it flying over the surface of the lake. This time her spell worked perfectly.

That was when the storm broke open. The wind whipped around them, sending their boat spinning. Marianne's wind spell fizzled out. Waves rose up higher than a man, and lightning cracked across the sky. The rain was so dense they could no longer see Captain Sage on the shore. They could no longer see any shore.

They didn't know where the other side was. They couldn't see the kelpie.

"I'm not letting her take you," growled Cat as he gave up on conjuring his magic bubble to keep away the rain and started blasting his own wind to make a tunnel to see. The storm would take anything to make itself more chaotic, but nothing to calm it.

"I'm not letting her take _you_ ," said Marianne. "She never said which of us she meant!"

That was when Marianne was blown off the boat by a blast of wind. The last thing she saw before she hit the water was Cat bent over the side of the boat trying to grab her hand.

Marianne did not drown.

Instead, strong arms grabbed her and pulled her down. But she didn't breathe in water. She didn't breathe at all. She didn't need to.

Light glowed faintly beneath the water. Just enough that when she was pulled to the bottom, she could make out the lake floor. It was… as if a derelict garden had been cultivated down there. Algae covered chairs, imitations of civilization, and… Marianne shuddered, there were bodies. Bodies that had been there a very long time.

And there was a living woman. She looked as surprised to see Marianne as Marianne was to see her.

She looked down at the arms that were holding her to drag her down. They were the pale, delicate-seeming arms of the kelpie.

 _Of course she cheated again. 'Fairly won' my **arse**_ , thought Marianne. _I'd say she was doing it from loneliness if it weren't for the dead._

The kelpie set Marianne down beside the woman and swam around in front of them. By the gleam in her eyes, the kelpie was clearly delighted.

"Oh, I'm so glad you're here," she said. "I'll keep you so well."

The woman shuddered.

Marianne opened her mouth to protest, but without breathing she couldn't form words and the kelpie remained un-rebuked. Not even angry bubbles had the grace to appear from Marianne's mouth.

"I'll return! Keep the place in good order for me!" cried the kelpie, transforming into a horse again, this time more aquatic and very suited for destroying boats. The kelpie surged off in the water.

Marianne turned to look at Mrs. Sage. No, Marianne realized, this was not just Mrs. Sage. It came to Marianne suddenly. Her name was Aileen. And Aileen was not scared. In fact, she looked exasperated.

Aileen endeavoured to show, with gestures, that the kelpie made a lot of promises she _did not_ live up to and she'd like to go home now.

Marianne nodded simply to Aileen and tried swimming up. No good, she might as well have been on the surface. Somewhere up there Cat was being slammed by the kelpie's storm and she was trapped down in a kelpie's loch garden.

She put Cat out of her mind. He could take care of himself against a raging kelpie. She was worried about how he was handling her 'drowning' after his own as a child, but she couldn't help him now. It was up to her to save herself and Aileen.

And thinking of a story she'd heard once…

She gestured to Aileen to stand close to her, to hold on to Marianne's side.

And then she raised her arms, and moved them far apart.

The lake split apart. Marianne choked as her lungs remembered they desperately needed air. She gasped and pulled it in.

"Run," she said to Aileen, choking beside her.

They raced across the muddy surface of the lake bottom, Marianne doing what she could to harden it enough to let them keep running. She could see the beach. She grabbed Aileen's hand to hurry her; Marianne wasn't sure how much longer she could keep the waters parted.

In front of them, the kelpie burst out of the wall of water with a snarl. The horse had gone from simply aquatic to truly monstrous. It had no words, just roars.

Cat's boat tipped over the side above them. "Marianne!" he yelled as he went down directly onto the kelpie. He had the sense to float safely off the boat during the fall.

"'lo, love," Marianne panted as she scrambled over the crushed horse and destroyed boat.

"Sorted then?" said Cat, running alongside them.

They made it almost to shore when the water collapsed back in on itself, splashing them up to their chests. They waded the rest of the way out.

Marianne and Cat sat shivering on a rock while Aileen reunited with her husband.

Aileen scolded Jeremiah about being so quick to give himself up and how he wasn't allowed near any bodies of waters for years _if he knew what was good for him, thank you very much_ , while Marianne and Cat led them back to town. There was no sign of the Wyrd Witches, but that was quite enough of them, Marianne felt.

"I thought you drowned," said Cat quietly.

"I'd never do that to you," said Marianne. "I'd find something less tied to unfortunate childhood memories to die from."

"Oh, well, thank you," he replied.

She squeezed his hand, then leaned over to give a quick peck. Cat smiled the rest of the walk back.

**Author's Note:**

> Brushes used were made by [Etoile-du-Nord](http://etoile-du-nord.deviantart.com/).
> 
> Extras: 
> 
> This story originally had a much different plot as well as cast. If you'd like to see the original (unfinished and 3,400 words long), [here it is!](http://www.stories.thefannish.org/ficcorner/thestormrace/thestormraceoriginal.htm)
> 
> Bonus extra:
> 
> Once painted what I think a kelpie looks like for another project (the DS is Dene Surma's signature, the character in the project) and I'm thinking it has a place here.


End file.
